Candle with automatic snuffer

ABSTRACT

A candle for providing a flame at the top end thereof when the candle is in a stable upright orientation and for automatically extinguishing the flame when the candle is suddenly impacted or knocked over. The candle includes a hollow body member containing a combustible fuel and terminates in a conical shaped top end. A wick is disposed within the body and extends through the conical end with a portion of the wick being exposed and serving as the site of the flame. A hollow snuffer is disposed on the conical end and is loosely coupled thereto such that when the candle is impacted suddenly or knocked over, a portion of the snuffer overlies the exposed wick portion to extinguish the flame thereat.

United States Patent 1191 Giangiulio 1 51 May 27, 1975 CANDLE WITH AUTOMATIC SNUFFER 22 Filed: Dec. 14, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 424,992

Primary Examiner-Carroll B. Dority, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or FirmCaeser, Rivise, Bernstein & Cohen [57] ABSTRACT A candle for providing a flame at the top end thereof when the candle is in a stable upright orientation and for automatically extinguishing the flame when the candle is suddenly impacted or knocked over. The candle includes a hollow body member containing a combustible fuel and terminates in a conical shaped top end. A wick is disposed within the body and extends through the conical end with a portion of the wick being exposed and serving as the site of the flame. A hollow snuffer is disposed on the conical end and is loosely coupled thereto such that when the candle is impacted suddenly or knocked over, a portion of the snuffer overlies the exposed wick portion to extinguish the flame thereat.

9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures CANDLE WITH AUTOMATIC SNUFFER This invention relates generally to illuminating burners and more particularly to self-extinguishing combustible fuel candles.

Various refillable fuel candles are commercially available today. Such candles commonly include a fuel reservoir and a wick extending into the reservoir and out the tip of the candle, with the exposed portion of the wick serving as the flame site. Such candles are frequently disposed in decorative fixtures for various commercial applications wherein a warm and aesthetically pleasing atmosphere is desired, such as in restaurants, catering halls, hotel lobbies, etc. To that end, such fixtures are commonly disposed on tables, which frequently have other combustible articles thereon, such as tablecloths, napkins, etc. This presents a grave fire hazard in the event that the candle is bumped or otherwise knocked over and remains burning while in contact with such articles.

Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to provide a safety candle which obviates the dangers inherent in the prior art.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a candle with an automatic snuffer which is operative to extinguish the flame of the candle should the candle be bumped or otherwise knocked over.

It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a refillable fuel candle which is relatively simple in construction and yet which will extinguish itself automatically should it be bumped or otherwise knocked over.

These and other objects of this invention are achieved by providing a candle which is arranged to flame when in a stable upright orientation and to automatically extinguish its flame when suddenly impacted or knocked over and out of its upright orientation. The candle comprises a body portion for storing a combustible fuel therein and terminating in a first end. A wick is provided extending into the body and in contact with the fuel, with a predetermined length portion of the wick extending out of the one end of the body portion. The extending wick portion is exposed and serves as the site of the flame. Automatic snuffer means is provided and is loosely coupled to the end of the candle and is arranged to overlie the exposed portion of the wick to extinguish the flame when the candle is suddenly impacted or tipped over.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a selfextinguishing candle in accordance with this invention; FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a top view, partially broken away, of the candle shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view, partially in section, showing the operation of the candle when suddenly bumped or otherwise impacted; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view, partially in section, of a portion of the candle, showing the candle in a tipped over position.

Referring now to the various figures of the drawing wherein like reference characters refer to like parts, there is shown in FIG. 1 an improved candle 20.

Candle 20 basically comprises a body portion 22, a wick 24 and a automatic snuffer 26. The candle 20 is adapted to be disposed in an upright or vertical orientation within a complimentary recess in a fixture, such as a candelabra or chandelier (not shown), with only the uppermost portion of the candle extending out of the fixture. A flame 28 is produced at the upper end of the candle to provide esthetically pleasing illumination.

As can be seen in FIG. I, the body of the candle is an elongated tubular member including a circular side wall 30 and a planar bottom wall 32. The side wall and bottom wall definean interior cavity 34 in the candle body. The bottom wall 32 of the candle serves as the base upon which the candle is disposed when seated within the fixture or candelabra.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the top end of the body 22 is closed by a cap member 36. The cap member is particularly configured in accordance with this invention to operate in conjunction with the snuffer 26 to enable the latter to effect the automatic extinguishment of the flame 28 in the event that the candle 20 is suddently bumped or knocked over. The structural details of the cap member 36 and its function will be described later.

The hollow cavity 34 in the body of the candle serves to hold a combustible fuel, such as kerosene or other comparable mineral spirits. The wick 24 is disposed within the candle with a major portion thereof disposed within the cavity 32 and therefore in communication with the fuel therein and with the small portion or tip of the wick extending out of the cap member 34 (see FIG. 2). The small exposed portion of the wick is denoted by the reference numeral 38 and serves as the site at which the flame 28 is produced. The height that the exposed portion of the wick extends beyond the cap member 36 is predetermined and is maintained by means (to be described later) in order to ensure that the snuffer means 26 is effective to extenguish the flame 28 in the event that the candle is bumped or overturned.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of this invention, the body 22 of the candle is formed of a strong, non-flammable, non-corrosive material, such as aluminum. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the cap member 36 basically comprises a flanged side wall 40, a conical wall 42 and a central cylindrical hub 44. The side wall 40, conical wall 42 and hub 44 are formed as an integral unit and, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of this invention, are formed of the same material as the body 22. The side wall 40 includes an interior surface 46 which is in tight frictional engagement with the outside surface 48 of the side wall 30 contiguous with the top end thereof. The conical wall 42 extends inwardly from the flanged side wall 40 and defines an operative conical surface 50. The central hub 44 extends upward from the apex of the conical wall 42 and includes a longitudinal central opening 52 through which the wick 24 extends.

The wick is formed of a braided material (see FIG. 2) which, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of this invention, is inflammable, such as bronzereinforced asbestos. As can be seen, the wick is folded over itself in the form of a loop at the wick tip 38 and with the wick tip extending outside the hub 44 and serving as the site of the flame 28.

The diameter of the wick 24 is such that a relatively good frictional engagement is made with the interior surface of the central opening 52 of the hub. This action serves to hold the wick in place such that the desired predetermined length of wick extends beyond the hub. A pin 54 is disposed within the fold at the wick tip with the ends of the pin overlying and abutting the contiguous top surface 56 of the hub 44. The pin 54 serves as additional means to hold the wick in place with the proper length of wick tip exposed and in addition prevents the wick from being pulled down into the hub.

The snuffer 26 is loosely coupled to the cap member 36 and is a hollow member of generally conical shape. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the snuffer basically comprises a base wall 58 and a side wall 60. The base wall is a planar circular member and includes a central opening 62 at its center. The diameter of the central opening 62 is slightly greater than the outside diameter of the hub 44, for reasons to be described later. The

side wall 60 projects generally inwardly from the periphery 64 of the base wall. The free end of the side wall 62 is denoted by the reference numeral 66 and defines an enlarged central opening 68 which is axially aligned with the opening 62 in the base wall 58 but is of greater diameter.

As can be seen, the snuffer is disposed on the cap member 36 with the hub 44 of the cap member extending through the opening 62 in the base wall of the snuffer and with the portion of the base wall contiguous with opening 64 abutting the portion of the conical surface 50 of the cap member 36 closely adjacent to the hub 44.

A plurality of projections 70 are provided at the top of the hub 44 and about the wick tip 38 (see FIG. 3). The distance between the lateral edges of opposed projections is greater than the diameter of the opening 64 such that the snuffer is held in place and cannot fall off the hub, even if the candle is completely inverted.

When the candle is in its stable upright orientation, like that shown in FIG. 1, the periphery of the central opening 62 in the bottom wall of the snuffer abuts the portions of the conical surface 50 of the cap member contiguous with the hub 44 and the base wall 58 of the snuffer is horizontal, such that the enlarged opening 68 of the snuffer is disposed directly over the wick tip (see FIG. 2). With the snuffer in this position, hereinafter called the normal position, the entire wick tip is exposed and uncovered, which enables combustion of the fuel to occur uninterrupted at the wick tip, such that a flame 28 is produced and maintained.

In accordance with this invention, the conical surface of the cap member immediately adjacent the hub serves as a pivot surface about which the snuffer rotates eccentrically when the candle is suddenly impacted. This phenomenon is shown in the diagram of FIG. 4. As can be seen therein, the snuffer 26 is shown in its normal position by the solid lines. If the candle is suddenly impacted, but nevertheless remains generally upright, the snuffer begins to spin eccentrically about the hub 44, as shown by the phantom lines in-FIG. 4. This action results in the peripheral portion 66 of the side wall of the snuffer overlying the wick tip, whereupon combustion of fuel at the wick tip is interrupted to result in the rapid extinguishment of the flame.

If the impaction of the candle actually results in the candles overturning to the horizontal position, like that shown in FIG. 5, the loose coupling between the snuffer 26 and the cap member 36 enables the snuffer to pivot downwardly about the hub, whereupon the up permost portion of the snuffer is furthest away from the cap while the lowermost portion of the snuffer is closest to the cap. In such an orientation, portions of the snuffers side wall 60 and base wall overlie the wick tip, thereby interrupting the combustion of the fuel at the wick tip and extinguishing the flame.

Accordingly, the snuffer 24 is operative to automatically extinguish the candle flame 28 whenever the candle 20 is impacted with sufficient force to cause the snuffer to begin its eccentric rotation. Further still, should the candle be knocked over into the horizontal position or some position intermediate, horizontal and vertical, the snuffer automatically pivots with respect to the candle body to a position wherein portions of it overlie the wick tip, thereby rapidly extinguishing the flame.

It should be noted at this point that the loose coupling between the snuffer and the cap member ensures that even under relatively low force impactions, wherein the candle is not overturned, the snuffer, nev ertheless, readily begins eccentric rotation about the hub. This action ensures that for all but the slightest impactions of the candle, which impactions do not create a substantial fire hazard, the candle automatically extinguishes itself.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of this invention, the candle is refillable such that when the fuel is used up, a new supply can be introduced into the candle. To that end, a filling hole 72 (FIG. 3) is provided in the conical wall 42 of the cap member to serve as a passageway through which the fuel is introduced into the candle.

In order to convert a prior art refillable fuel candle to a self extinguishing candle like that disclosed heretofore the head of such a prior art candle may be replaced by a subassembly comprising a cap member 36, snuffer 26 and wick 24, all in accordance with this invention. To that end, internal threads (not shown) may be provided on surface 48 in order to screw the cap onto mating threads (not shown) existing on surface 46 of prior art candle bodies.

As should be appreciated from the foregoing, the candle 20 of this invention is relatively simple in construction, is efficient and reliable, yet is extremely safe in that it automatically extinguishes its flame in the event that it is suddenly impacted or overturned.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate my invention that others may, by applying current or future knowledge, readily adapt the same for use under various conditions of service.

What is claimed as the invention is:

l. A candle arranged to flame when in a stable upright orientation and to automatically extinguish its flame when suddenly impacted or knocked over out of its upright orientation, comprising tubular a body for containing a combustible fuel and terminating in a first end having a cap with a tapered surface, a wick extending into said cap, with a predetermined length portion of the wick extending out of the apex of said tapered surface, said extending wick portion being exposed and serving as the site of the flame and automatic snuffer means comprising a hollow member having a base wall and an inwardly extending side wall projecting therefrom, said base wall having a central opening therein into which a portion of said tapered surface extends, said snuffer being loosely coupled to said first end, while being freely rotatable about the axis of said extending wick portion and pivotable with respect thereto, whereupon said snuffer overlies the exposed portion of the wick to extinguish the flame when the candle is suddenly impacted or tipped over.

2. The candle of claim 1 wherein the tapered surface is conical.

3. The candle of claim 2 wherein the apex of said conical surface forms a central hub, which hub extends through said central opening and into the interior of said snuffer, said exposed portion of the wick extending out of said hub.

4. The candle of claim 3 wherein the snuffer is generally conically shaped with the top edge of the side wall forming an enlarged opening through which said exposed portion of the wick extends when the candle is upright and stationary.

5. The candle of claim 4 wherein the body is a hollow portion includingan opening for the introduction of said combustible fuel therein.

6. The candle of claim 5 wherein pins are provided to hold the wick in place with only the predetermined length thereof extending out of said hub to be exposed.

7. The candle of claim 6 wherein the wick is formed of bronze-reinforced asbestos.

8. The candle of claim 7 wherein the body portion and said snuffer are formed of metal.

9. The candle of claim 8 wherein means are provided to prevent the snuffer from falling off the hub. 

1. A candle arranged to flame when in a stable upright orientation and to automatically extinguish its flame when suddenly impacted or knocked over out of its upright orientation, comprising tubular a body for containing a combustible fuel and terminating in a first end having a cap with a tapered surface, a wick extending into said cap, with a predetermined length portion of the wick extending out of the apex of said tapered surface, said extending wick portion being exposed and serving as the site of the flame and automatic snuffer means comprising a hollow member having a base wall and an inwardly extending side wall projecting therefrom, said base wall having a central opening therein into which a portion of said tapered surface extends, said snuffer being loosely coupled to said first end, while being freely rotatable about the axis of said extending wick portion and pivotable with respect thereto, whereupon said snuffer overlies the exposed portion of the wick to extinguish the flame when the candle is suddenly impacted or tipped over.
 2. The candle of claim 1 wherein the tapered surface is conical.
 3. The candle of claim 2 wherein the apex of said conical surface forms a central hub, which hub extends through said central opening and into the interior of said snuffer, said exposed portion of the wick extending out of said hub.
 4. The candle of claim 3 wherein the snuffer is generally conically shaped with the top edge of the side wall forming an enlarged opening through which said exposed portion of the wick extends when the candle is upright and stationary.
 5. The candle of claim 4 wherein the body is a hollow portion including an opening for the introduction of said combustible fuel therein.
 6. The candle of claim 5 wherein pins are provided to hold the wick in place with only the predetermined length thereof extending out of said hub to be exposed.
 7. The candle of claim 6 wherein the wIck is formed of bronze-reinforced asbestos.
 8. The candle of claim 7 wherein the body portion and said snuffer are formed of metal.
 9. The candle of claim 8 wherein means are provided to prevent the snuffer from falling off the hub. 